Bowie, Talking Heads, N.W.A. Albums Archived in Library of Congress

The National Recording Registry preserves works that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”

By Matthew Strauss.

The Library of Congress has announced the latest inductees into the National Recording Registry, which archives “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” works that are at least 10 years old. Among the 25 new additions to the collection are David Bowie’s 1972 record The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Talking Heads’ 1980 Remain in Light, and N.W.A.’s 1988 debut Straight Outta Compton. Other entires in the 2016 National Recording Registry include an 1888 recording of Civil War Col. George Gouraud (captured on a Thomas Edison phonograph), Judy Garland’s “Over the Rainbow,” Don MacLean’s “American Pie,” the first broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered” (1971), and Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975). See the full list here.